The short answer
Professional services business loans are fast, property-secured loans for accounting, legal, engineering, architecture, IT and consulting firms. We lend $20,000 to $5,000,000 to cover work in progress and slow-paying clients, fund a fee-book or firm acquisition, pay out a departing partner, or clear tax and super debts. Approvals often come the same day, and the loan is repaid from collections, a refinance or a settlement.
- Cover the lock-up between billing hours and collecting cash
- Fund a fee-book purchase or firm merger to a fixed settlement
- Pay out a retiring or departing partner on time
- Secured by partners' homes, investment property or office premises
| Loan size | $20,000 to $5,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Firms we lend to | Accounting, legal, engineering, architecture, IT, consulting, agencies |
| Security | Partners' homes, investment property or owned offices |
| Speed | Funds within 24 hours on simple files |
Professional services business loans are short-term, property-secured loans for firms that sell expertise: accountants, lawyers, engineers, architects, IT specialists, consultants and agencies. Their cash is tied up in unbilled hours and unpaid invoices rather than stock or machinery, so they need finance that moves when a deal or a deadline does. We lend $20,000 to $5,000,000, often approving the same day, and have been lending to Australian businesses since 2004.
Why do profitable firms run short of cash?
Profitable firms run short of cash because the money sits in work in progress and debtors for weeks or months. A consultant works a month, bills at the end of it, and the client pays 30 or 60 days later. A litigation team might carry a matter for a year before it settles. On paper the firm is doing well; in the bank account it’s thin.
Big clients make it worse. The Payment Times Reporting Regulator found that, for January to June 2025, the time it took large businesses to pay 95% of their small-business invoices rose to 64 days, up from 58. For a firm whose biggest clients are large corporates or government-linked bodies, that stretch lands on its own cash flow.
And payroll timing has tightened. Since Payday Super started on 1 July 2026, super must reach staff funds within 7 business days of each payday, not 28 days after the quarter. Firms that used the quarterly gap as a buffer now need that money earlier and more often.
What are professional services business loans used for?
Professional services business loans pay for growth deals, partner changes and timing gaps. The common uses:
| Purpose | What it looks like | Typical exit |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a fee book or firm | Retiring practitioner sells client list with a set settlement | Bank refinance after settlement |
| Partner exit | Departing partner’s capital must be repaid by a date | Bank loan or remaining partners’ equity |
| WIP and debtor lock-up | Large matter or project billing delayed | Collections from the matter or project |
| Tax and super catch-up | BAS, PAYG or super arrears | Collections, then a refinance |
| New office fit-out | Lease signed, builder wants a deposit | Refinance or trading cash |
| Contract mobilisation | Hire staff before a big engagement starts | Contract milestone payments |
For purchases, read our page on funding to buy a business. For slow debtors in particular, see fast cash flow loans.
How does buying a fee book or merging firms work with a fast loan?
A fast loan funds the settlement on the agreed date, then a bank or longer-term lender refinances once the firm is under its new ownership. Fee-book purchases are mostly goodwill, which banks assess carefully and slowly. Vendors, especially retiring principals, usually want certainty on the date.
The usual sequence:
- Sign the sale agreement with a settlement date.
- Enquire with us and give the security property details.
- We approve against property, often within a day, and settle on the date.
- You transition the clients and start billing.
- Your bank or another lender assesses the combined firm and refinances us.
The vendor gets paid on time, and you avoid renegotiating or losing the deal while the bank works through it.
What security do professional firms use?
Professional firms use the partners’ or owners’ property, because the firm itself rarely owns hard assets. Our usual security:
- A partner’s home, through a second mortgage behind the existing loan.
- Several partners’ homes, each contributing part of the security for a larger loan.
- An owned office suite or building, as a first or second mortgage.
- An investment property held personally or in a family trust.
When a director’s or family property is the security, our page on collateral loans for business explains how guarantees work. We don’t lend against goodwill, WIP or client lists.
Can a firm with tax debt or messy books still borrow?
Yes, because the property and the exit matter more to us than the last set of accounts. Many professional firms have tax debts building quietly, often because partners draw more than the firm earns in a slow year. Since 1 July 2025, the ATO’s general interest charge on unpaid tax is no longer tax deductible, which makes carrying the debt more expensive than it used to be.
A property-secured loan clears the ATO in one hit. Some firms don’t have current financials because the accountant is behind, which is ironic but common. Our fast low doc business loans work without full financial statements.
ASIC data shows professional, scientific and technical services made up 7.0% of companies entering external administration for the first time in 2025–26. Dealing with tax debt early is one of the clearest ways to stay out of that statistic.
How fast can a professional firm get funded?
A professional firm with clear property security can often be approved the same day and funded within 24 hours, and most loans settle within a few business days. Firms tend to be quick borrowers because the partners are used to paperwork and can pull documents together fast.
What usually sets the pace:
- Every property owner signing. If a partner’s spouse co-owns the home, they need to sign too.
- The existing lender’s balance. A current mortgage statement saves a day of chasing.
- A clear exit. A signed sale agreement, a bank’s indicative approval or an aged debtors list showing who pays and when.
If you’re unsure how long your file will take, our guide on how fast you can get a business loan walks through each step and what holds it up.
Illustrative example: an accounting firm buying a retiring partner’s client base
Illustrative example: a two-partner accounting firm agrees to buy the client base of a retiring sole practitioner for $1,200,000, settling on 1 July so the clients move across before the tax season. Their bank is supportive in principle but needs eight weeks to assess the combined firm’s figures.
The two partners own homes with combined equity of around $2,000,000. We approve a $1,200,000 loan secured by second mortgages over both homes the day after the enquiry, settle on 1 July and pay the vendor. Over the next three months the clients transition and fees start flowing. The bank refinances in September, and our loan is cleared. Fast private money costs more than the bank’s practice loan, but the firm kept a deal it would otherwise have lost. Start your enquiry if you have a settlement date approaching.
Get your answer and get back to clients
Tell us the deal, the deadline and the property, and you’ll speak with an experienced lender who understands how professional firms work. Enquiring carries no credit check, we don’t share your file across a list of lenders, and you’ll get a straight answer quickly, including a firm no if it won’t work.
Fill in the form carefully, with a realistic idea of what your property is worth, plus accurate debts and dates, so the answer you get is the one you can rely on. Apply for a professional services loan, call 1300 852 150, or see our lending for other industries.
How it works, step by step
- Send a short enquiryTell us the amount, the reason, the deadline and the property that secures it.
- Talk to a lenderWe confirm the property, the purpose and how the loan is repaid, then give you a direct answer.
- Sign the documentsEach borrower and guarantor signs, and we lodge the mortgage or caveat.
- Receive the fundsMoney settles to your account, the vendor or the ATO on the agreed day.
Professional services: your questions answered
Can a law firm borrow against its trust account or client money?
No, and we wouldn't want it to. Client money in a trust account belongs to clients. Our loans are secured against real property owned by the firm, the partners or a guarantor, and they're paid into the firm's office account, never the trust account.
Do you lend to a sole practitioner accountant or consultant?
Yes. A sole practitioner with a home that has equity is a straightforward borrower for us. The loan needs a business purpose, such as buying a client list, covering a tax bill or funding a fit-out, plus a clear plan for repaying it.
Can a firm borrow to fund a large tender or contract bid?
Yes. Engineering, architecture and IT firms sometimes need to hire staff or subcontractors ahead of a large contract starting. A short property-secured loan covers those costs and is repaid from the contract's first payments or milestones. We'll want to see the signed contract and its payment schedule so the term lines up with the first milestone.
Will you need our professional indemnity insurance details?
We may ask whether cover is current, especially if a claim is part of the reason for the loan. If the money is to fund a PI excess or a settlement, tell us upfront and we'll factor it into the repayment plan.
How is goodwill treated when buying a practice?
We don't lend against goodwill. When you buy a fee book or a firm, the purchase price is mostly goodwill, so our loan is secured against property instead. That's why we can move quickly where a bank might want weeks to assess the practice's value.
Sources we checked
Written by the BizLoansFast lending team · Updated 2026-10-05